The Boulder City Council on Tuesday will hold the first in a series of planned conversations aimed at developing a policy that will help create more diverse, affordable housing options in the city.

The scheduled two-hour study session marks city officials' first steps toward developing an updated comprehensive community housing strategy since the late 1990s, when Boulder's affordable housing program was developed, according to a city staff memo.

The discussion is likely to cover a number of items brought up by council members in 2012. Topics outlined in the staff memo include the need to study density and distribution of affordable housing across the city, and possible updates to the city's inclusionary housing requirements--which mandates contributions to affordable housing by developers on larger projects-- as they relate to rental units.

Jeff Yegian, Boulder's acting housing division manager, last week noted that with such a heavy emphasis on affordable housing over the past 10 to 15 years, city staff are hearing more and more from the Council that a wider-reaching discussion on housing needs to be had. Tuesday's hearing will be the first step in that direction, giving city staff an idea of what strategies to study and what information to collect in advance of a more in-depth study session planned for May 14.

"The goal for Tuesday night is for the City Council to have the opportunity to better define the parameters for developing a comprehensive community housing strategy," Yegian said. "With a little bit better definition we will be better able to prepare options for the council to meet its goals for the strategy."

Boulder Deputy Mayor Lisa Morzel has a long list of ideas she would like to go over during the session. Morzel said Boulder has done a poor job of addressing housing for the middle class.

"We want to be a inclusive community," Morzel said. "We do a great job with low income and very high income, so what do we need with the middle?"

One of the ideas Morzel feels might create more housing for middle income people is encouraging development of "owner accessory units." An example Morzel outlined on Friday would be a detached garage that had been remodeled into a separate residence on the same plot as a single-family home. She sees encouraging development of such units as a good way to bring in more support from the private sector when it comes to addressing the city's housing needs.

"That way the property owner is able to provide a unit to somebody who otherwise might not be able to live in Boulder," Morzel said. "(It) would be great for a senior, or single parent or a young couple."

When it comes to higher level policy issues, Morzel thinks land use should be part of the housing discussion, especially the amount of city-owner property that has been developed as parking lots.

"The city owns a lot of land but quite a bit of this land is in the parking lots," she said "That is a ridiculous use of land in this day and age in an urban center."

One person sure to be in the audience Tuesday night is Betsey Martens, executive director of Boulder Housing Partners, they city's housing authority and primary engine for the development of affordable housing.

"It will be interesting to see what about a comprehensive housing strategy isn't about affordable housing," Martens said. "We're only becoming more expensive as a community and it's only getting harder to do what we do as affordable housing developers."

Items Martens hopes will be taken up during the discussion include consideration of thoughtful density solutions to housing needs, the increasing need for senior housing and where to look for future funding streams to increase the city's affordable housing trust fund.

Whatever policy ideas are discussed at the meeting, it is clear that housing is an issue that will remain at the forefront for Boulder for the foreseeable future.

"This is just a critical issue and it really reflects on who we are as a community," Morzel said.

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